COUPLES with theatrical streaks are making sure that their wedding receptions have big opening numbers or dramatic closers. An arrival by helicopter fueled one couple’s big moment; other newlyweds made an impression by departing on a Jet Ski and in an ice cream truck.

Brides and bridegrooms are “reinventing the tradition of a grand entrance or exit,” said Millie Martini Bratten, the editor in chief of Brides magazine. While some may go for a stretch limousine, she said, others seek a mode of transportation that might fit the couple, like teachers who arrive on a school bus.

A crucial element is surprise, sometimes even for the bride. In May 2010, Katie and Nathan Schwarz left their church ceremony in Lorena, Tex., on an ice cream truck that had been secretly arranged for by the bride’s father, Terry Jones. “I had a dream for Katie to have a special exit from her wedding,” Mr. Jones said. “Then I discovered my friend had an ice cream truck. It was perfect since our family saying is, ‘A home without ice cream is a home without love.’ ”

The bride found relief from the 97-degree heat with a Bomb Pop. Her husband had a Drumstick and Mr. Jones a snow cone.

“I am a very scheduled person, so it threw me off a little when this got added,” she said. After handing out frozen treats to their guests, she and her husband departed to the whirl of the truck’s jingle.

Unruly hair is often a concern on a wedding day, but especially so for Maggie and Jonny Eskander, who at the end of May arrived at their reception at the Doral resort in Miami by helicopter.

“The wind was strong,” Mr. Eskander said. “But Maggie’s hair was done up and had a lot of pins in it so it didn’t get messed up or move much. I kept reassuring her that it looked great.”

Photo

Ankur Desai and Dr. Nina Desai on an elephant at their reception.Credit
Yogi Patel

They also had to contend with worried parents. “I’m sure they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw us land safely,” Mr. Eskander said.

Ms. Bratten said that helicopters or hot air balloons may be “very romantic, but require a tremendous amount of space and the right wind conditions. You may be adding a layer of impracticality or complexity to an already complex event.”

Having the bridegroom arrive on a horse or an elephant is a longstanding and often awe-inspiring tradition in Hindu and Sikh weddings.

In 2006, Ankur Desai and Dr. Nina Desai decided to double it by first having Mr. Desai arrive at their Hindu ceremony in Parsippany, N.J., on a white horse. They followed that up a week later, arriving at their reception in Dana Point, Calif., atop an elephant.

As the couple lumbered along from this perch, 15 feet above the crowd, Dr. Desai, a dermatologist in New York, recalled being “so scared, I was holding on to Ankur for dear life.” But it was worth the scary climb up a ladder in her three-inch heels, she said, to get on its back. “It’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.

Dr. Desai said the elephant idea began as a joke. “Ankur said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to come in on an elephant?’ "

The elephant was draped in a handmade shawl and headpiece matching the bride’s embroidered crimson lehenga, a traditional Indian wedding dress. “My mother-in-law is extremely resourceful and she found out where to rent an elephant and had his attire made in India to match ours,” she said.

They left the logistics to their planner, Barbara Wallace. “Because of our proximity to Hollywood, you can rent anything, living or not,” she said. The elephant came from a company that hires them out, usually for commercials, television shows and films. The animal also comes with a special handler and a clean-up crew. With animals, Ms. Wallace said, “you always have to expect the unexpected.”

Hours after their entrance, the couple quietly slipped away to an airport in a simple black limousine. “But first we made a stop for something to eat at Del Taco,” Dr. Desai said.

Stacey and John Edwards left their wedding at Lookout Point Lakeside Inn in Hot Springs, Ark., on their Jet Ski.

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It was a second marriage for both, “and we did everything traditional the first time,” said Mrs. Edwards, of Oakland, Tenn. “We’re both water enthusiasts and we thought it would make great pictures.”

They had to do several trial exits to get the perfect shot because the currents kept making them drift. “You can’t really control the water,” she said with a laugh. “We weren’t sure whether we’d end up in the lake or not.”

Hanne and Brian Duncan of Philadelphia, fans of bicycling, met at a race, and their second date was a 60-mile ride. So it seemed fitting for them to leave their wedding last August at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kan., on a tandem. Guests rang bicycle bells as they rode off.

Even so, part of the dress dragged and was streaked with black. “I knew that if my wedding dress didn’t show evidence of a good time,” she said, “then it wasn’t a fun wedding.”

Correction: July 16, 2011

An earlier version of this article misspelled in one reference the surname of a bride who arrived at her wedding reception on an elephant. As the article correctly noted elsewhere, she is Dr. Nina Desai, not Desi.

A version of this article appears in print on July 17, 2011, on Page ST13 of the New York edition with the headline: The Wedding Couple Depart in Good Humor. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe